Chelsea are of the opinion that they will overtake Manchester City in their race to sign £50million Virgil van Dijk.
The Southampton defender is a top priority for the Premier League leaders this summer and they are ready to go the extra mile to bring him down to Stamford Bridge. The West London club are self-assured they would get to him faster than rivals City, Liverpool and Everton who have indicated their interest in the former Celtic player.
City’s interest became a public knowledge so much so that it became a jest among Van Dijk’s Saints teammates who went as far as buying him a Man City shirt in a Secret Santa wind-up last December.
The Pep Guardiola side are looking to reinforce their backline and are looking up to Van Dijk as the right man to bring stability to the squad.
Southampton, who have less option for defence have continuously assert that they will not for any reason sell the 25-year old this summer, but looking at the situation of things, his future might fall out of their grasp.
They realize they are entering into another battle to retain one of their best players with managers from top club in hot pursuit. The past transfer windows has seen them lose the likes of Fonte, Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane, Luke Shaw, Morgan Schneiderlin, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Victor Wanyama and Calum Chambers to the top clubs in the game.
Chelsea will have to make a mouthwatering offer for Van Dijk, but will not be an issue as Antonio Conte has been promised access to lots of funds as they make their way back to the Champions League and the central defence is one of the major areas he will be improving.
Their current backliners consisting of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta have been amazing so far, but skipper John Terry will possibly be on his way out of the club come season end.
The Blues are also looking to fortify their attack.
They have also had their eyes on Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez. They also want a permanent centre-forward too, and Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku are their focal point for the position.